The San Francisco 49ers have won just 10 games under the watchful eyes of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. Dealing with several injuries over the past two seasons has contributed to that disappointing win total. Despite the lack of success, many still view Shanahan as one of the league's brilliant young football minds.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah clearly has not lost faith in the 49ers coach. He joined the "Haberman and Middlekauff" podcast this week, and the trio briefly discussed Shanahan and his squad. Jeremiah believes San Francisco is close to turning a corner. It just needs to limit the injuries.
"Look, I think he's going to be outstanding," Jeremiah told Guy Haberman and John Middlekauff. "The poor guy just needs people to stay healthy around him."
Shanahan will be getting back his franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who went down with a season-ending ACL injury during Week 3 last year. That was after losing featured running back Jerick McKinnon before the start of the season.
The injuries didn't stop there. San Francisco ended its year with 14 players on injured reserve, and that was an improvement over the total from a year before.
"I'm big on [Shanahan]," Jeremiah continued. "I think if they all stay healthy, they're going to have a monster year. This is the time of the year when everyone has their big hot take, like what's the most outlandish thing you can say? I don't even think it's a stretch. Do you guys think it's a stretch? If this team went 11-5 next year, would you guys be shocked?"
Haberman and Middlekauff agreed that the 49ers have talent but lack depth. While Jeremiah didn't disagree, Shanahan believes his team finally has the depth it needs to overcome potential injuries.
"We expect to have injuries," Shanahan said earlier this month. "That's part of football. But I definitely am a lot more confident going into this year, if that does happen. We have guys who have experience, and we also have guys who have some talent who can step in and help us out."
The 49ers also added a few weapons around Garoppolo this offseason. One of those additions is rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
"He's good," Jeremiah said of Samuel.
The NFL Network analyst, who specialized in the draft, believes Samuel was somewhat limited at South Carolina. The coaches knew he was a superb athlete and made every effort to get the football into his hands, but his playmaking ability may have outshined his skill as a route runner.
"Then you go to the Senior Bowl where they ask him to run every route under the sun, and he was phenomenal," Jeremiah continued. "So that's challenging the scouting process. Just because a guy hasn't done something doesn't mean he can't do something. He just wasn't asked to do that in that offense there at South Carolina.
"I thought, after seeing what he did at the Senior Bowl, and then adding to that what I know about him as a competitor, how tough he is, and how good he is with the ball in his hands, I'm like, 'Gosh, this guy could be really, really good.'"
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers worked to bolster their pass rush, which tied for No. 22 in the league last year when it came to bringing down opposing quarterbacks. The team used the No. 2 overall pick to add defensive end Nick Bosa of Ohio State.
One knock on Bosa was his health. There were some concerns that he might not be able to stay healthy at the pro level. Bosa didn't help his case by going down with a low-grade hamstring strain two days into organized team activities. He missed the remainder of the 49ers' offseason program but is expected to be full-go at the start of training camp.
Jeremiah has been fond of Bosa but admits that there might be something to the health concerns.
"You can love a player and also acknowledge what the concern is," Jeremiah said. "The health thing is a concern. That's not something you want to see, for him to go down as quickly as he did."
Still, Jeremiah doesn't doubt how talented Bosa is and the impact he can have for the defense. He will bookend a pass rushing duo that includes Dee Ford, who racked up a career-high 13 sacks with the Kansas City Chiefs last year. The 49ers also have defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who recorded a career-high and team-leading 12 sacks of his own.
Jeremiah added, "If [Bosa] does stay healthy, especially when you get a chance to line him up next to Buckner, good luck."
You can listen to the entire interview with Jeremiah below. The portion discussing the 49ers begins at about the 26:20 mark.
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